Reba Merrill & Tandy Culpepper Review The Accountant 2 & The Ballad Of Wallis Island

Written by and starring Tim Key and Tom Basden, The Ballad of Wallis Island is a wistful, oddball character study set on a fictional island off the coast of Wales. It’s a film steeped in folk nostalgia and emotional ambivalence, shot in just 18 days, and somehow both intimate and indulgent in equal measure. Acquired by Focus Features, the film earned just over $2 million at the box office, but for those who connect with its peculiar rhythm, it may well become a quiet cult favorite.

Tim Key plays Charles, an effervescent eccentric who lives alone on Wallis Island. Charles is a man twice touched by fortune—literally. He and his wife won the lottery once, spent the money globe-trotting, and then, as lightning somehow struck twice, Charles won again after her death. With his second windfall and a heart still mourning his beloved, Charles decides to indulge a lifelong obsession: the folk duo McGwyer Mortimer.
To that end, he hires Herb McGwyer (played by co-writer Tom Basden), one half of the long-disbanded group, to perform a private concert on the island—for the whopping sum of 500,000 pounds. Initially told that the audience will be fewer than a hundred people, Herb arrives to discover that the concert is for an audience of one: Charles himself.

Unbeknownst to Herb, Charles has also extended the invitation (and the paycheck) to Nell Mortimer—his former musical partner and, we learn, one-time romantic flame. Nell, played by Carey Mulligan (who is also listed as an executive producer), arrives on the island married, her husband awkwardly in tow. Cue old tensions, unresolved lyrics, and the melancholic strumming of memories not quite laid to rest.
Reba couldn’t connect with the film’s energy. The pacing, the tone, and the story’s idiosyncratic framing left her cold. But more than that, she found Herb such a turn-off that it colored her entire experience of the movie. As she put it, “I’ve had my fill of men like that—curmudgeons who never smile, never bend, and act like the world owes them a refund.” Herb’s crankiness and emotional constipation made the film, for her, uncomfortable to watch.

The good news is that Herb doesn’t stay that way. Over the course of the film, we witness a slow thaw. By the end, he has become a warm, sympathetic character who embraces Charles’ eccentricities and delivers the one-man concert in the spirit it was intended. But for Reba, the journey getting there felt too long and too sour to redeem the destination.
Tandy, however, saw something else entirely. “I loved the music, and I found the dynamic between Basden and Mulligan surprisingly affecting. Their harmonies worked. You could absolutely believe they had once been a duo.” Basden, it turns out, wrote most of the film’s original songs, and both he and Mulligan deliver them with aching sincerity. There’s a weathered, soulful quality to their voices that fits the story’s elegiac mood perfectly.

Still, we both agree that Mulligan’s executive producer credit suggests this was a project close to her heart—perhaps more a passion piece than a traditional starring vehicle. It’s easy to imagine why the story would resonate: the tug of the past, the idea of being summoned back to a place—or a person—you thought you’d left behind.

In the end, The Ballad of Wallis Island may not be for everyone. It’s quiet, it’s quirky, and it wanders a bit too often in its own poetic detours. But if you’re in the mood for a melancholic melody, a bit of island eccentricity, and two former lovers harmonizing their way through regret and possibility, it just might be worth the listen.

Verdict:
Reba says: A tuneless drift—I never found the melody.
Tandy says: Call me enchanted. I bought the record.

Movie Review: The Accountant Part 2
Reviewed by Tandy Culpepper and Reba Merrill

Nearly a decade after the original Accountant hit theaters in 2016, Ben Affleck returns as Christian Wolfe in The Accountant Part 2, reuniting with John Bernthal, who plays his lethal younger brother, Braxton Wolfe. Once again written by Bill Dubuque and directed by Gavin O’Connor, this sequel builds on the grit and intrigue of the original while surprising us with unexpected warmth, humor, and brotherly bonding.

Christian Wolfe remains the number-crunching savant whose client roster includes mobsters, arms dealers, and other figures you wouldn’t want doing your taxes. He still operates with ruthless efficiency, both in the spreadsheets and with a sniper rifle. His brother Braxton, meanwhile, has carved out his own niche as an assassin-for-hire. As in the first film, the relationship between these two emotionally guarded men is a central and rewarding thread. Tandy Culpepper especially appreciated the evolving dynamic between Christian and Braxton, finding it one of the more grounded and compelling aspects of the film.

While the third act delivers a satisfying barrage of bullet-riddled thrills, The Accountant Part 2 surprises with several moments of levity and charm. One standout scene sees Affleck’s Christian partaking in a line dancing routine at a honky-tonk bar—an awkwardly hilarious fish-out-of-water moment that humanizes the otherwise stoic protagonist. Another scene, a speed-dating montage, mines comedic gold from Christian’s blunt, unfiltered delivery—a result of his autism, which the film continues to portray with thoughtful nuance.

The plot, while a bit convoluted at times, revolves around a mysterious woman who has lost her memory. A photograph of her, her husband, and child becomes a key to unlocking her past. As fragments of her memory return, we learn she is more than a bystander—she is an assassin herself, tangled in a web of violence and personal loss. While the narrative might be hard to track beat by beat, the emotional stakes remain clear, and the performances anchor the story even when the plotting drifts.

Reba Merrill responded especially well to the film’s continued respectful and empowering portrayal of Christian’s autism. With nephews on the spectrum, Reba noted how meaningful it is to see an autistic protagonist portrayed not just as capable, but heroic, complex, and even romantic in his own unorthodox way.

Premiering at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, the film pulled in a modest $102 million at the worldwide box office. Tandy Culpepper was surprised it didn’t do more business, especially considering the solid fan base of the original and the mix of action, humor, and heart that the sequel delivers.